Drift
by GideonRynn
Summary: **Chapter Five FINALLY Up** *NON-YAOI* Trowa's memories of his life before the battlefield slowly resurface after Quatre is kidnapped, and Heero, Duo, and Wufei are forced to face ghosts of their own [WARNING: uh, scary kid and dominatrix (kidding) chick]
1. Default Chapter

::gasp:: is this ME doing a serious fic for once? Must have been that Alg/Trig test... 'neeway, I hope you like my *first* serious fic after a ridiculous slew of nutty ones. Who's taken Quatre and who's going to get him back...? ::silence:: Don't STARE AT ME! I DON'T KNOW, OKAY??? ^_~  
  
~Prologue~  
  
"..... Trowa... Trowa....." thought the beaten Quatre listlessly. He could feel the eerie taste of blood on his tongue and in his throat, and he was barely able to swallow. His tears from the pain had dried and when his cheek twitched he could feel the restrictions of his skin. He tried to look around but could only see darkness. He couldn't move another part of his body if his life depended on it.  
  
[You are *ours* now]  
  
When he heard the sound of a door opening he unsuccessfully tried to shake himself out of the haze his brain was drifting in. When he felt cool, silky fingers touch his lips he stiffened. A not-too-disappointed sigh came from somewhere up above Quatre's brain. Whatever blindfold that had been tied to his head was pulled away and he tried to focus on the person before him. Again, he could only see darkness.  
  
"He's quite a gain, isn't he?" said a low voice. The feel of the voice caused Quatre to stiffen again... there was something very wrong with the way.. the way that the voice said... everything...  
  
A little laugh came in response to his stiffening and the presence came closer, so close that he could feel the lips on his ear. "Don't be afraid little boy..." Then Quatre screamed as something large and sharp plunged into his stomach.  
  
He screamed in pain until he blissfully blacked out.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oi, Trowa.. Dinnertime!" Duo's voice, although perfectly clear, did nothing to jar the deadly silent Heavyarms pilot from his thoughts. He stood there, staring at Quatre's bed, a hand unconsciously balled, drawing blood, around the no-longer-neatly-typed note. Eventually, Duo, vaguely annoyed, came upstairs himself and cautiously scanned the room to see if he was intruding. Seeing nothing but Trowa, he plastered another grin on his face and winked. "I made something *extra* tasty this time.. w-well, microwaved something I hope isn't too *char-grilled*, if you know what I mean..." He touched his lip thoughtfully when he looked at Quatre's bed and the items placed carefully on it. "Anyway, this is probably silly of me to ask but where's--"  
  
"Quatre," finished Trowa flatly. Before Duo could begin a new line of questioning he swiftly tossed the note at Duo and crossed his arms, blazing green eyes still fixed on the missing pilot's bed. When Duo realized that Trowa wasn't going to explain, he opened the note. Trowa didn't even notice the three shades of color that abruptly drained from the braided boy's face. He tried to move his lips then stopped and dared to look at Trowa. Meanwhile, Trowa stared fixedly at the clothes, then the thick, black knife imbedded into Quatre's mattress.  
  
Duo began, "I should tell the-"  
  
"You won't tell *anyone*," stated Trowa flatly. For a moment the full and pure hatred in his gaze struck Duo and he blinked and backed up.  
  
"B-but Trowa, we've--" His voice died in his throat and, wisely, he did not finish, but instead nodded and walked quickly out of the room, not knowing what to do *or* say, if anything. Trowa's eyes returned to the knife. After a moment he stood and reached down to finger the familiar clothing on the bed, then deftly pulled out the knife and curled his fingers around the handle and stared at the dark blade.  
  
[He's going to become one of us now.]  
  
He glared through Quatre's clothing and his smile flashed through his eyes. He didn't even notice that he was glaring so hard that tears had begun to well up at the bottoms of his eyes.  
  
[You knew that we would take our payment, and now that we have, you are free. But if you try to come after him we will take the lives of your other friends.  
  
[Then we will take yours.]  
  
[He's going to become one of us now."]  
  
Whatever tears had come to fall immediately evaporated, revealing only emerald eyes that said: "No. I *will* come after him... and if you touch him, you are the *only* one who is going to die." And he stalked out Quatre's room to enclosed himself in his own.  
  
* * *  
  
Duo slipped quickly downstairs, eyes wide and unseeing. At the bottom of the steps he shook his head to clear. "I can't believe it..." he murmured.  
  
"Maxwell, what's wrong with you?" came the tired voice of the awakened Wufei. A slight frown covered his lips at the usual disruption. Duo forced cheerfulness, Trowa's flat words pounding in his head.  
  
'....you won't tell *anyone*....'  
  
"Oh nothin'." He sighed slightly and started to walk back toward the kitchen. "Dinner's ready."  
  
Wufei groaned both inwardly and outwardly. *Another* failed attempt at edible food would mean that he would spend the next couple of days convincing his stomach that he wasn't deliberately feeding it inedible substances; a deliberately missed *meal* would mean that the insulted braided boy wouldn't give him a moment's peace. He sighed and rose to go to the kitchen, but not before he spotted the crumpled, slightly dark note out of the corner of his eye. He hesitated, then bent to pick it up with his index finger and thumb.  
  
When he caught the scent of a coppery smell, he looked more closely at it. One whole side of the note was lightly soaked in blood.  
  
* * *  
  
Heero glared pointedly at the small plate of food before him, the idea of reaching for a fork or spoon not even crossing his mind. Hungry as he was, he did *not* trust his eyes. Meanwhile Duo feasted away on the other side of the table.  
  
"Take a bite, Heero," Duo managed to say between mouthfuls, swallows, and gasps for air, momentarily trying to keep his mind away from possibly terrible situations. His next swallow caught in his throat but he *forced* it down. "It's *good*, really!"  
  
"Hn," was the unwavering reply. He sniffed when he saw Duo's plate empty and glanced at the kitchen door. "Where are Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei?" He thought to himself:  
  
"Probably where I was fifteen minutes ago.. deciding on whether to avoid dinner altogether or find a reason to be somewhere else..." He smiled faintly. "Same difference." He glanced up slowly, arms crossed, when the Chinese pilot's lean body slipped hesitantly through the door. He stared amicably at Wufei and nodded slightly. "Run while you can."  
  
Wufei nodded back and slipped into another chair, undetectably throwing a look at Duo, who had tactfully stuffed his mouth to avoid Heero's question. After a moment he began to eat the food on the plate absently, his mind still on the stray note.  
  
Heero eyed him suspiciously. "You're eating the food?" 'He, least of all, did I assume that he would eat the "food" without running a full analysis ...'  
  
The boy looked at Heero questioningly, disoriented for a moment.  
  
"Duo made it," came the disbelieving response, especially since Wufei was still whole and apparently un poisoned.  
  
"Not everyone's gonna keel over from eating my food, *Heero*," said Duo, oblivious to Wufei's searching stare. He stuck his tongue out and rose to leave.  
  
"I found your note, Duo." he took another bite, suspicions confirmed when Duo froze. He shrugged guardedly "Luckily I only read half of it. You really should take better care to hide your personal things..."  
  
"Baka," mumbled Heero, rising from the table, the full plate left untouched. He grabbed a flashlight from the cabinet and walked away. "Be right back."  
  
Wufei immediately cornered Duo before he could scamper off into the darkness of the resting house. He waved the note in front of the braided boy's face, questioning.  
  
"Duo, what's this note about? Who is it?"  
  
"I *DON'T* know," snapped Duo. "Who am I to stick myself in other people's business? Go figure it out *yourself*." Ignoring Duo's obvious discomfort, Wufei, determined to get to the bottom of it, held him against the wall and stared at him directly.  
  
"Does it have something to do with Trowa or Quatre?" When Duo was silent he pressed harder. "Quatre... is it? He isn't anywhere to be found... it's him, isn't it?"  
  
"I *said* it's *none* of my business," repeated Duo, bowing his head a little. He looked up, a half hard half desperate look on his face. "But you *can't* tell Trowa that you know."  
  
Wufei was puzzled. "Why no--"  
  
"Wu-man, Trowa *told* me, pretty much *ordered* me not to tell-- the look on Trowa's face tonight before dinner was a look I'd *never* seen on him before; not even in *battle*. He.. he looked like he was ready to rip me into itty-bitty Shinigami pieces and at the same time didn't really seem to know or *care* who I was. Trowa was BEYOND pissed... and when I say pissed, I mean Heero Yuy pissed... BEYOND Heero Yuy pissed, I mean p--"  
  
"I get the point," snapped Wufei irritably. He pulled out the note and read it again. "But who *is* this? This doesn't even sound like any enemy I've even heard of before." He eyed Duo.  
  
Duo raised his hands defensively. "Don't look at me--I dunno either. Did... has Trowa ever made any enemies?"  
  
Wufei snorted. "How could he? He blended in so well that I bet no one really noticed him save a few that I know... and this is *not* one of them. The format of this note makes it sound like there was some deal between this person and Trowa. It reminds me much of someone bartering goods or slave--" He stopped short.  
  
Duo's mouth was grim. "I sure hope not."  
  
* * *  
  
*He's mine.*  
  
"Trowa.. Trowa, where are you?"  
  
*I'm right here, Quatre. I'm here. Can't you see me?*  
  
Trowa moaned lightly in his sleep.  
  
"Trowa...?" the voice sounded faint and pained.  
  
*Quatre, I'm coming...*  
  
"Trowa, help...."  
  
*Matte...*  
  
"TROWA!!!!!"  
  
The lithe body sat up in bed quickly, breathing hard, green eyes wide and pained. He slowly released his grip on the sheets, then squeezed his eyes shut.  
  
"Hold on, Quatre, I'm coming... I'm coming to save you..."  
  
Trowa packed as lightly as he could, gun on hip, and slipped outside. He least expected the voice that rose from outside.  
  
"Stay there, Trowa." Wufei's outline shone on Trowa. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Out," replied he curtly.  
  
"Your head's not clear, Trowa. You can't save him by yourself." Wufei came closer. "You don't even know where he is."  
  
Just the thought of it hit Trowa like a ton of bricks. He knew approximately where Quatre was, but he didn't know if he could successfully get in and out by himself... himself... *yes*, he *would* do it *himself*. He hardened. "Leave me alone, Wufei. I don't need your help."  
  
"I'm sure Quatre does."  
  
"I can get to Quatre on my own," eluded Trowa coldly, glaring strikingly at the darkness of Wufei's form in such a way that it even struck a deep note in the poised Chinese pilot. "You'd only get in the way."  
  
'I've never seen him like this... there's a darkness in his eyes that I should not even venture to mess with...'  
  
Trowa's grip tightened on his backpack but he remained where he was. 'But if only I knew how to get you out, Quatre! I know clearly enough that I can get myself to you with ease but I don't know how to get you away from those monsters without *you* getting hurt...' He fell deeper into silence the more he thought about it.  
  
"Trowa." Suddenly Heero walked up, clicking his flashlight off. Nevertheless, both the Wing pilot and Heavyarms pilot felt each other's strong gazes piercing the darkness. "Trowa, listen to me. I've told you before to act on your emotions, but now it not the time. Look at you... you're hanging half out a window with probably only half an idea about what you're going to do to accomplish your *mission*."  
  
'The man knows how to put things..' thought Wufei absently. He looked back at Trowa, who was glaring hard of into space but not moving an inch from his place. 'Really... I hadn't noticed that he *was* going at this thing like a mission... not telling anyone else or counting on anyone else's help with only a backpack and his emotions... that's all we usually had going into battle anyway, didn't we? Even when both space and Earth hated us and every single odd was against us...?' He shook his head. 'A mission...'  
  
"You know as well as anyone that I *don't* get into other people's business simply because it not my business to deal with. But it's an utter waste to rush into anything with a purpose when you *know* that you will not attain victory." He sniffed slightly, seemingly a warped version of an empty laugh. "More times than not we have gone into battle with that kind of attitude, where we don't have time to plan how we're going to defeat the enemy so we go headlong into it... but in a battle without a mobile suit around you you don't have but one chance to live. If you're going to save Quatre, you'd better do it with some type of sense in your head because I'm *not* coming after you, and if you're captured, I'm coming to kill you myself."  
  
After a moment of silence:  
  
"OOo, Heero, are you being... affectionate?" Duo grinned the grin he usually did when things felt too tense to him. Everyone was way too serious and it itched at him like a tiny disease from the inside. He had to say *something*... something to keep him from thinking that Trowa was going out to probably kill himself without another thought... again he shook his head and resumed an unbreakable grin.  
  
Thus began the first in a long succession of catcalls hurled from the braided boy's window.  
  
Trowa snapped out of his world only for a second because of the abrupt intrusion of words and turned his head slightly to watch Duo throw himself back into his room. Heero walked swiftly into the house with a gleam in his eye and a six pound flashlight in his hand, presumably to knock some bloody sense into the baka's brains.  
  
"Duo no baka," muttered Wufei thankfully, still pausing to watch Trowa guardedly. "Trowa...?"  
  
Trowa looked at him distantly, but with the angry fire gone out of his eyes. He just felt the long night of bad dreams catching up with him, and he suddenly just wanted to sleep. Understandingly, Wufei retreated to his room.  
  
"Good night, old friend."  
  
The slender book bag slipped from his arm and he slumped against the windowsill, eyelids heavy.  
  
'You know I can't *bear* to leave you another moment in such a horrible place, Quatre, but...* His thoughts became foggy as he partially allowed sleep to overtake him. *...I'm coming for you....* And he fell easily into sleep for the rest of the starry night.  
  
* * *  
  
'What a way to show indecision!" Duo's bright grin shined up at the sleeping Trowa. He shook his head and contemplated getting the water hose to wake up the troubled teen, but instead arched the cold stream up and into Wufei's open window.  
  
"SHIIIIIIIIIIMATTA!" yelled Wufei. When he head the incessant laughter from outside his window he was overwhelmed with fury and grabbed his katana, gripping his beloved handle with a plan and a definitely revived vengeance.  
  
* * *  
  
"You guys do this everyday," scolded Heero. He not-too-gently wrapped up Duo's bleeding arm and threw two more blankets at Wufei. "Do you ever get tired of it?"  
  
"Why does he have to be so *grumpy*?" moaned Duo, loosening the wrap. "I didn't know he was actually going to cut me with it!"  
  
And so the day began.  
  
Again.  
  
"What did you think I was going to do, spank you with the flat of the blade?! Of COURSE I wasn't going to *cut* you with it.. I was going to KILL YOU WITH IT!"  
  
"Lighten up!"  
  
"Bite me!" Wufei instantly regretted the words, because it gave Duo more grounds to laugh at him with.  
  
"WUFEI, you're soooooo funny...."  
  
"You're both idiots," said Heero bluntly, then left. After they were left alone, Duo chuckled then until the silence got to him again and he looked a Wufei, a moderately serious look on his face. "I'm... sorry..."  
  
"Ah." Wufei wrapped the blanket tighter around him and began to study the floor.  
  
When there was a bit of silence, Duo looked curiously at the freezing, disgruntled boy. "Wufei?"  
  
Growl. "What?"  
  
"... Wufei... just... why...?"  
  
He looked up, annoyed. "WHAT?"  
  
Duo frowned a little. "Don't get all uptight, but.. why did you try to stop Trowa?" When he was given a puzzled look, Duo looked down and scratched his head. "Well, you don't exactly seem to be Mr. CareBear..."  
  
Wufei rolled his eyes but took the question seriously. "Well... I guess you can say because of the blood on the note..."  
  
Duo blinked. He hadn't noticed the blood... only the words entwined in it. But he still didn't understand Wufei's vague response...  
  
"I.. at first I thought that the blood was Quatre's, and that he was someone on the premises in serious pain.... then I thought it might have been Trowa's.. maybe he had been in a fight or something and accidently got it on the note, and then I realized that if he got in a fight it was still none of my business. Whatever the case," he added quickly.  
  
"You think too much... but you *still* tried to stop him," said Duo.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But--"  
  
"You guys... after my colony was destroyed, have become the ones that I have most been in contact with. We've fought together, been jailed together.." He cringed slightly at the thought and looked up again. "And, you're a loudmouthed baka who can't even successfully self destruct, and if Quatre's skillful way of occupying me from beating the crap out of myself for having your moronic advances as a weakness was lost, I wouldn't have a moment's peace... not to mention proper housing..."  
  
Duo shrugged, amused. "Got a point." When Wufei got tired of sitting there he stood and slowly went upstairs, and Duo gazed respectably, for not the first or last time, and smiled. "I knew it.... he loves us." 


	2. An Innocent Face

"Wake up."  
  
Quatre really couldn't tell this time whether he was dreaming or awake. He tried to open his eyes, but they parted very little. In fact, he felt like the very skin on his face was about to crack into a thousand tiny pieces. Trying to move, he moaned as the not-so-dull pain poured over his stomach like liquid fire. He stopped abruptly.  
  
'I can't... remember... where am I? What happened...?'  
  
"Wake up, little darling."  
  
Quatre's eyes snapped open. Yeah... it was *that* *voice*. The strange, silky, unnerving one he had heard before he had felt... the pain..  
  
He could see fairly enough the color of the blindfolds over his eyes. His mouth was unbound...  
  
"Where... where am I?" He tried to reach for the blindfold. "Who are you?"  
  
A throaty laugh. "Kekei. Remember the name... you'll be hearing it enough... or saying it, rather..."  
  
*She* trailed off into another throaty laugh. When Quatre shivered she took a long, skilled finger and traced his lips softly before she came closer. "I'm one of patience, little boy, but Akimiko isn't so... *nice*... " She roughly smacked him and threw him to the floor, ripping off his blindfold and binds, shoving him into another room and locking him in before he could get a clear focus on her face.  
  
'*Never* underestimate a boy...' She smiled slowly and leaned against the door. 'If only he was like Trowa....' She sighed and left.  
  
"You'd better get cleaned up.. Akimiko doesn't like dirty boys." And then there was silence on the other side of the door.  
  
"Who is Akimiko?" thought Quatre dully as he tried to get back up. He couldn't get up to much, but managed to get his knees bent under him. He would have been sitting on his heels if he had enough strength to get his face off the floor. If only he could see... it was so dark....  
  
Suddenly a light went on overhead, and regardless of being dim nearly blinded the blond pilot. He could see the floor... and smell it too. It looked like.. mud had been splattered and dried all over the tiled floor, but it smelled like... blood?! Quatre used all of his strength to push himself off the floor and went back on his heels, propped against the door. But still the smell was everywhere. He felt it inside of him...  
  
Immediately the urge to clean himself overwhelmed a good deal of how tired he was and his eyes lighted on the shower to his left. He stumbled over to the shower and twisted the crystalline knobs all the way on the hot side. Clear, searing water rushed over his burning face and hair, then the rest of his trembling body. He managed to turn it down a little and slid to the bottom of the porcelain shower, closing his eyes, breathing heavily. He slowly rocked his head side to side, allowing the cleansing blanket come over him over and over and over... the warmth, immediate and unyielding made him think of the security of his freinds... of Trowa...  
  
"Oh... oh... T... Trowa?" Quatre gasped sharply. He lifted his head and clutched at his chest, just about where his heart was. Trowa's low voice began to drift listlessly through his mind, slowly, consistently, like a mental life line unaware. Trowa? Why aren't you here? You always know what to do... Quatre closed his eyes again. "Trowa... what's happening?" He curled up in a small ball, the water falling on him like rain from a storm, clothed in thin, black pants and none else... he wrapped his arms around himself. "Why is it that in this place I feel fear, but I feel like you're calling out to my heart? Is it urgent? Am I... in danger?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Trowa." Duo popped his head inside the door for the second time in 24 hours and grinned reservedly. The lean pilot slowly turned to face him, not a trace of his immense weariness on his face. The braided boy waved his hand. "Despite various injuries, breakfast is served. Come down, ok? The food will cheer you right up, and you'll be able to think a little clearer."  
  
"If you're not dead," interjected Wufei ritually. He shoved aside Duo and peeked in. He nodded slightly. "He made something new, so don't expect me to be there."  
  
*THONK*  
  
"Maxwell, how DARE you?! That's IT. Katana time!!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Thundering steps echoed throughout the house followed by about six or seven loud, hard thumps.  
  
"STOP IT!" heard Trowa-- Heero's voice. Then there was silence. Somebody's going to get it this time... He curved his head back outside and saw that it was a bright, sunny day. He glanced at the scores of flowers growing on the lawn. Quatre would be saying something about them now... He stopped short, mouth straightening into a line. No -- I won't think about it right now. I've just got to keep remembering that you're a lot stronger than you let on. You are so much stronger than I... He closed his eyes. ... and the guys are going to help me. We'll get you out...  
  
"Trowa." Heero. He had been standing there for a few minutes. He gave Trowa a murderous look. "Duo's head is stuck between the refrigerator and the door and Wufei is about to disembody him. Care to help?"  
  
Trowa thought a moment, then gave a slight nod. He lifted himself from the sill and trod a little past Heero, stopping, head down. "You know I'm going to kill whoever did this to him. You hear me, Heero?" When Heero didn't answer, Trowa continued, undaunted, downstairs, mind set momentarily on the task at hand. The Wing pilot shut the door behind him and watched Trowa's thin frame walk steadily downstairs, the familiar gait highly visible to his eyes.  
  
"Take care of yourself Trowa... just take care..."  
  
"Anytime this YEAR, HEERO, if it's not TOO MUCH *TROUBLE*!!!" grated Duo loudly, both feet on the wall, trying to pull his head out of the small space. Wufei took aim behind him.  
  
"Any last requests?"  
  
"Yeah. LET. ME. OUT!"  
  
"Well..." Wufei appeared to think, making Duo hopeful, but then shook his head. "No. YAAAIIIIEEEE!"  
  
Trowa appeared out of nowhere and kicked the sword out of Wufei's hands, flipping to use his full body weight to knock and pin the Chinese boy to the ground. He straddled him and gave him a neutral look.  
  
"Get a hold of yourself, Wufei. It's not worth it." He easily held him down, the boy unsuccessfully trying to squirm free, then giving up and closing his eyes. Trowa rolled away and stood behind Duo, who hopped nervously from foot to foot. Meanwhile, cursing, Wufei collected himself and his sword and walked back upstairs, going back into his room to clean the mess. Duo was very nervous.  
  
"Hey, what happened? Where is he? Is he dead? Did you tie him up? Hey, somebody get me outta here!"  
  
After a moment, Heero came down and stared at Duo's rump. He smiled ever so slightly, then shook his head and walked away. Duo stopped. "Hey... Heero, I know you're there. Heero, you wouldn't dare leave me here! HEERO! HEEEEEEROOOOOO!!"  
  
Trowa smiled slightly too. "It's no use. I don't think he's going to get you out."  
  
Duo paused, then smiled in his confined spot. "Hey, Trowa, among the living! Hey, you wanna help me out?" When Trowa was silent, his smile faded and he panicked. "Aww, c'mon, Tro-man. I *love* you, man! C'mon WaaWaaaa..." Trowa twitched at the nickname, ready to leave, but instead in a characteristically swift movement, grasped the boy's braid and gave a hard tug to the side. Duo's head popped out and his butt collided with the floor. He rose slowly, rubbing the offended part with both hands. He gave Trowa a wink and a thankful look. Suddenly he ran over and threw his arms around him in an affectionate hug.  
  
"Thank you WaaWaa..."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"WaaWaa?"  
  
"...."  
  
"My bum hurts."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"And WaaWaa...?"  
  
"..."  
  
"I just want you to know..." He lowered his voice to a loud whispher. "... Heero's pissed at me because I heard him saying he missed his blankie."  
  
At that precise moment, Heero stalked in, acknowledged Trowa, and with an unreadable look on his face grabbed Duo's braid, dragged him unceremoniously upstairs, threw Duo inot Duo's room, and shut the door with the full intention of locking him inside.  
  
BAM!!  
  
Trowa's heart stopped.  
  
"Trowa, what's going on?! TROWA!"  
  
BAM  
  
His vision went black.  
  
BAM  
  
He couldn't move an inch.  
  
BAM  
  
They sounded like... gunshots, but... after the third BAM there was a loud crack.... and a moan....  
  
Trowa's eyes widened and he talked as if sleepwalking. "Quatre... Quatre, are you there?" Silence. His heart squeezed the last air out of him and an unnatural hint of panic entered his voice. "Quatre. QUATRE."  
  
*Trowa!*  
  
"Oh no... Quatre, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
"TROWA!!!" Wufei grabbed a tighter hold of Trowa's stone cold shoulders and began to shake him back and forth. "Trowa BARTON, snap out of it!" hissed he. "Wake up! Quatre is not here!"  
  
"You d-don't..." he faltered, then swallowed. "You don't understand." He fixed his vision on Wufei, but the look was distant. "You don't understand! We have to save Quatre! He's in serious danger!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Quatre's eyes flew open as much as they could in the still scalding hot water. He sat up with a gasp and looked around him, confused. "T-Trowa? Where are you? I heard your voice.. where--" He stopped short when he looked up and saw the shower and the still dim lights. Suddenly crestfallen, the blond sighed and stood, clutching his stomach and leaning on the shower wall, feebly twisting the knob off. He panted a little, then rubbed his right hand on his eyes roughly, trying to 'wake himself up.'  
  
This can't be real... I don't believe it... I feel like I'm in a terrible nightmare.. the kind where you feel it so vividly that you can even feel the roughness of the walls under your fingers... He stared hard at everything, trying hard to convince himself. That's not a wall, that's dream space, created out of my deepest, darkest imaginations, and the shadows floating freely around this place -- He could feel the darkness so thick that it nearly choked him but he stood through his panic and he fixed his eyes on the now open... door...  
  
"Open....? Hey, who's there?" he called suspiciously. He took half a step forward. "Hello? Ki... Kekei? Is that your  
  
name? Are you there?" Silence. "Anyone?" He took a few more steps forward and looked around the little dark room. It wasn't dark anymore like it had been before... in fact, there was a light in every corner, and the dark green marble ceiling, walls, and floor glistened and sparkled like in a child's favorite dream. The bed that he had been on before was the only dark and disheveled thing in the place. The borders of the marble were grey, and there were gold crescent moons and stars in the center of each block of marble...  
  
Quatre uneasily crossed the room and peeked out of the open door. Down the left hallway -- same marble designs, endless passages -- down the right hallway, black and grey designs. Gold moon crescents and stars. He moved out of the doorway and a little down toward the left passage, confused. He half expected to hear screaming and tortured moans radiating through the walls for some reason... the way all of that blood had been all over the floor...  
  
"I wonder... if they're all gone?"  
  
"WHO ARE YOU?" snapped a shrill voice behind him. He spun around and looked at the newcomer, poised and ready to attack as he had so many time before, but only a child of six or seven was standing there. She had a terribly disapproving look on her face and a glare that was worthy to challenge Heero Yuy himself. Her curls were weighted down by the long, ankle-length of her dark blond hair and her dark blue eyes were everything but welcoming. They were weighted down by a darkness that radiated deep within her tiny little body. Her cute little nose wrinkled in digust and her lips were covered in black lipstick. she let go of her tight black dress and balled up her fists. "I SAID, WHO ARE YOU?! How dare you come out here at this time!"  
  
Quatre was a little dumbfounded by the young child's outburst. "I'm s- sorry. I didn't know!" He stepped toward her desperately. "Where am I? What is this place?"  
  
"Eeew, don't TOUCH ME!" shrieked the girl, recoiling from his outstretched arm. She glared murderously at him. "I don't like dirty boys! I don't like disobedient dirty boys either! You will pay! Kekei! Come here!" She stomped her foot like a spoiled little 2 year old. "Kekei!" Her voice rang through the hall like a loud speaker, strangely echoing through the walls as if it was a part of thier organics in the first place. Only after a moment did Kekei suddenly appear behind Quatre and immediately went down on her knees before the child. The girl's eyes began to glow a bright blue and the hair began to shimmer and wave. "Did I not instruct that THEY stay in thier PLACES during the day?! Did I NOT?! What a disgraceful, poorly trained boy!"  
  
Kekei was basically laying on her face. "I'm sorry, Mistress, forgive me Mistress! He is a new one -- I haven't had the time between him and the preparations! Forgive me, Mistress -- "  
  
"Stop your snivelling!" snapped the girl, hair and eyes slowly returning to normal. "I suggest you hurry up and make that disobedient little piece of dirt the slave he is! Do you hear me?!"  
  
"Yes Mistress!"  
  
"Get up and GO!" The girl gave Quatre one last glare, and in a light of black mist, disappeared from thier sight. The moment she was gone Kekei rose and smacked Quatre dead across the face.  
  
"What the freak are you trying to do, get us BOTH killed?!" yelled Kekei. "Get back in your room!"  
  
Quatre stared angrily at her. "Not until you tell me what this place is! Who are you really? What's going on?!"  
  
Kekei pulled something out from behind her and before Quatre could react, she jammed the sharp object into the sore part of his stomach and twisted. He screamed and tried to knocked her away but the pain was overwhelming. "THIS is what we are! We are PAIN! We are TORTURE on your heart, the physical kind that cuts like a double-edged sword right down into your soul and breaks it into a billion shrieking little peices! This is what you will be a part of!! Are you happy now?! Are you happy now that you know?! Tell me!!"  
  
"L-let me GOOO!" gasped Quatre, but the pain was too much for him to continue and he hung there, hardly able to catch his breath except for pained moans like a sword stocked roller coaster that just keeps going straight down to hell. The pain in his stomach over encompassing and would not give him to release enough to black out. Eventually, without him noticing Kekei grabbed his hair and dragged him into his room. To teach him some... manners..  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Heero came downstairs to see what the racket was, and when he saw Trowa's face he came over to Wufei. "What's  
  
wrong with him."  
  
"He keeps saying something about Quatre! It's NOT like him!"  
  
"Hey, Trowa, snap out of it!" yelled Heero. He smacked him across the face. But when it yielded no response, he  
  
grunted and dragged him into another room, away from the alarmed Wufei. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "I think it's about time you told us who has Quatre." Heero stood directly in front of the lean Heavyarms pilot, arms crossed and face set. "Who are they?"  
  
"I thought you said it was none of your buisness and you're absolutely right," said Trowa lowly.  
  
"I didn't ask about how he got there," said Heero nuetrally, "I asked who has him. We're in the middle of a war, Trowa. They could have taken him to question him for all we know right now. They could be--"  
  
"They aren't IN the war," whisphered Trowa, mind whirling. "They don't care what happens to anyone. They aren't Oz, they aren't rebels, they aren't really anything except to those who are with them. And me..."  
  
"Who are they?" repeated Heero. When Trowa didn't answer, he dropped down to look directly in his eyes. "Because whoever they are, they've got Quatre, NOT you, and if that's not enough for you, I don't know what else to say."  
  
Trowa was silent for a few more moments and Heero started to walk away when he said slowly; "Akimiko has him." Heero didn't turn around, but didn't say anything. Trowa looked toward the window. "I can't even begin to tell you the horrible things that Quatre will go through if we leave him there any longer. And it has *nothing* to do with questioning."  
  
"Where is he then?"  
  
"Candy Land."  
  
Heero turned slightly. "What?"  
  
Trowa sighed and stood to go to the window. "Call it her odd sense of humor and leave it."  
  
"Her?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hm."  
  
"It's what she calls her... her.... whatever you want to call that place. It doesn't deserve a name."  
  
"Enough. Do you know where he is?"  
  
"Approximately."  
  
Heero sniffed. "Good enough. We've done stuff like this before with much less information, ne?" Leaving the question in the air, he walked away to his room to prepare.  
  
Trowa simply sat down and stared at the window, over and over again, because where he was going there were no windows to jump out of, not even to let his soul be free....  
  
We're finally coming Quatre.. hold on...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Gideon: Wow! I wrote another part! Thank you SO MUCH for the comments! It's makes me so HAPPY! ::giggle::  
  
Wufei: ::breaths:: Baka.  
  
Gideon Anyway, I know Kekei's speech was kinda corny... and the whole Candyland thing... ::shrugs:: Forgive me, minna. My brain isn't in the right places at times...  
  
Duo: ::points:: Didn't the Barenaked Ladies have that song One Week--  
  
Gideon: ::slams Duo's head into the wall, all the while grinning profusely:: Again, forgive me, minna. Duo's be okay, I promise! See you next week! 


	3. A Faltering Star

Alright! Another chapter, finally! I'll be getting them up a bit faster because I have a lot less work this week for ONCE. Kiss a baby! ... uh... that wasn't me. I don't know where that came from. ^_^ Thank you very much for your comments you guys! I'm going to be doing some mad reading for the next couple of days if you know what I mean ^_^ Without further adieu, the next chapter!  
  
  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ---------------------  
  
"So what's the deal?" said Duo quietly, leaning against the now closed door. Heero didn't answer right away and Duo crossed his arms irritably. "Heero?"  
  
"I don't know yet."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?!"  
  
"Because it depends on Trowa." Heero looked around his room and slowly moved over to his bed. Sitting on his heels, he bent over and rummaged under the bed, pointedly silent. Duo sighed and sat at Heero's desk, messing with the chipped wood that most of the Wing pilot's accessories sat on. After a moment his gazed again landed on Heero.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Hn," offered Heero shortly, digging further under his bed until he produced a large tan box. His gaze shifted to Duo just a moment before he began to dig in the papers inside the box. It was apparent that he was in no hurry, and Duo opened his mouth for a question when he finally said, "Who did he say took Quatre?"  
  
The braided pilot bit his lip and rolled his eyes. "I think... Akimiko?" He nodded. "Yeah, that was it. Akimiko... and Candy Land? What the heck kind of name is that?"  
  
"Do you ever remember hearing anything about this?" asked Heero slowly. Duo shook his head and narrowed his eyes..  
  
"Hunh uh. Never. Heero--"  
  
"I'll bet you 10 to 1 you have."  
  
"Oh really," replied Duo disbelievingly. "And what if I haven't?"  
  
With a moderately quiet sound of satisfaction, Heero withdrew a huge stack of papers, and setting himself to his feet, immediately deposited the papers into Duo's lap. "Then you haven't been living on L2 colony."  
  
The braided pilot quickly scanned over the compressed lines of information of the first page. His eyebrows creased in question. "This is a report on--"  
  
"Azuya Kurijiko," murmured Heero, already concentrating on the information popping up on the computer screen, of which he had booted up with unmatched speed [G: I know that sounds corny but I wanted to mention that it isn't like my computer, no da!]. "Where have you heard of her before?"  
  
"Azuya..." His eyebrows creased in concentration. "A long time ago there was this guy who helped me when I was sick... in return I helped run a few 'errands' for him." Duo produced a leery look and shifted uncomfortably. "What I mean is that he gave out cures to kids who couldn't pay for them and his company or whatever tracked him down and threw him in jail for it [1]... but that was a very long time ago and I can't even remember exactly what he looked like or why the heck he was risking helping a bunch of no-name kids like -- no, wait. I thought that Azuya was a man?"  
  
"A woman."  
  
Duo's jaw dropped. "That's not freakin possible. I saw-- I saw HIM myself!"  
  
"Yes, I saw him too." Heero shifted the laptop screen toward him. "But... take a look for yourself."  
  
Sure enough, the flickering picture on the screen of the laptop gave proof of a pretty, young-looking female with pitch black hair just below her ears and bright blue eyes. Her features where slightly childish, but nothing betraying the male that Duo had said he had seen. Under the picture was a brief description of the woman as a medical doctor -- independent surgeon.  
  
"Do you remember her now?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Think, Duo!"  
  
"I'm trying!" yelled the frustrated boy. "How am I supposed to remember something like that?!?"  
  
"You can't have forgotten that scandal that went down with her," said Heero calmly. He tapped three keys and another file came up. It was a missing persons report. Several missing persons reports. "Do you remember now?"  
  
Duo finally snapped his fingers. "I remember that! That was when kids kept disappearing all over L2. I'm telling you that scared the sh--" He stopped short and a part of him froze. "But that was all OVER L2. There's no way that could have been... her if that's what you're talking about. Are you trying to say that this woman Azuya was stealing punks off the streets? And what does that have to do with Trowa and Quatre? Azuya became a missing person himself and nobody ever found those kids. Heero, you wouldn't believe the mess that was going on then. That was some of the scariest times that we ever had to go through. Kids just--disappeared."  
  
"Not exactly." Click click. "Kids were found."  
  
"Of course kids were found," replied Duo darkly. "Dead. Popping up everywhere. There's no telling what happened to them. It could have been anything between disease and war."  
  
"Not these kids."  
  
"And what's so different about THESE kids," snapped the disturbed pilot. The memories had hit and note and he had begun to feel this odd sensation at the base of his neck, and instead of crawling up his neck like fear, it crawled down toward the base of his spine, making him shiver involuntarily. He knew... he knew the answer... but he just couldn't... "Not these kids. Prove it."  
  
Heero twisted the computer screen around toward Duo and stood. "That's your proof."  
  
Hundreds of different faces appeared on the screen, some of them close ups, others full body. The difference was, each looked like children between the ages of 6 and 7... and each child was nothing but dried up black skin and bones. Literally.  
  
Duo didn't have the energy to twitch. "Proof." Heero nodded slightly and he pressed his lips together tightly. "So what's your point?"  
  
"All of these children didn't appear all at the same time. They appeared fairly randomly, and there are even a few cases of it today."  
  
"Like all deaths, Heero."  
  
"They appeared in graveyards."  
  
"What?" Duo spasmed slightly, but quickly got a hold of himself under Heero's calm gaze. He looked away. "What do you mean 'appeared in graveyards'?" When Heero merely returned to typing on the computer, he swatted the computer screen away and forced Heero to look at him. "Heero!"  
  
"Someone put these children on top of fresh graves," replied Heero calmly. "Not in the graves, not under the dirt, but on top. Deliberately. And that's what's going to happen to Quatre if we don't get him. Now."  
  
Duo dropped his arms and closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his brow. "I don't believe this. I just... don't..."  
  
Heero remained still for a moment, as if thinking, then shut off his computer and walked toward the door, stopping briefly once he got there. "Duo, if you don't believe me, then I guess you will have to see for yourself."  
  
"Dang straight."  
  
"And on the way, I need for you to do something for me."  
  
Duo opened one eye cautiously and suspiciously looked at his partner. "Oh? And what is that?"  
  
"I need for you to enlist as a doctor at L2."  
  
The braided pilot choked and nearly fell out of his chair. "Say WHAT?"  
  
"You heard what I said."  
  
"Well--what for, Heero?"  
  
"So you can see for yourself." And he walked away.  
  
* * *  
  
"Wufei."  
  
Heero waited patiently for Wufei to turn away from his book before continuing. "I need you to do something for me. I'm going to L1 to look for some background information, but I don't trust Trowa to say here and sit still until I get back."  
  
"You want me to baby-sit him," stated Wufei, closing his book quietly.  
  
"No," responded Heero neutrally. "I want you to do something to make him stay put." He turned to leave.  
  
"Do you realize that you are taking a completely labyrinthine way of getting this done?"  
  
Heero waited. Wufei looked at him with an annoyed look on his face. "If you're trying to set up an impenetrable defense, I suggest you quit wasting your time."  
  
"And if you think Quatre is all there is to this then I suggest you think again."  
  
"I know Quatre isn't it."  
  
Heero turned to look at Wufei. "You know?"  
  
The stiff pilot crossed his arms and looked pointedly at Heero. "I know that the enemy tried to get back at Trowa through Quatre. I know that the enemy has a hold of Quatre. They have the ways and means to strike."  
  
A half-sincere laugh sounded from Heero at the expected response. "You want to cover your back."  
  
"The enemy knows where we are. I don't like that either."  
  
The dark-haired Zero pilot nodded slightly. "Understood. But in order for you to know what exactly you're getting into, I suggest you go track down some information at the library archives." Heero walked to the door and pause. "Then you might see why we will need all of the defense we can possibly get." He disappeared around the doorway.  
  
Wufei sighed and put his book on his nightstand. "Very well."  
  
"And take Duo."  
  
Wufei chafed. "Take Maxwell? Are you out of your mind?" No response. "Heero?" Silence. "HEERO!"  
  
After a moment of tangible disgust, the Chinese pilot released the book he had loosely held in his hand, realizing the utter uselessness of attempting to read it at that time. He waited until he heard the quieting footsteps of the Zero pilot before he walked softly down the hallway to Trowa's room, which had been wide open since the previous night. He leaned against the door frame and peeked cautiously into the room.  
  
Trowa was laying on his bed in his pajamas this time on his left side facing the window, left arm propping his head up and right arm bent to the curve above his waist. It appeared as if he was reading something, but, after a moment's study of his steady breathing, Wufei realized that Trowa was sleeping. Suddenly, Wufei himself yawned and he noticed that the air of the other boy's room was somewhat warm and still. He shrugged tiredly before retreating to his own room to doze for a moment.  
  
"I wonder what Trowa is dreaming about..."  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre was being prodded again. He sighed. He was sick and tired of being prodded. Not only that, but he was tired of being knocked out too. Quatre was prodded in the side again and he winced and stretched. "I'm awake, I'm awake, just let me open my eyes..."  
  
A low, cool voice whispered hurriedly. "Get up, Quatre Winner. We have to go now." The poking and prodding continued until Quatre became fairly irritated and opened his eyes.  
  
"Alright! I'm up! I'm up! Just--" He hesitated, seeing the darkness around him, then again realized where he was and sighed again. "I'm still here..."  
  
"Get up!"  
  
"I'm up! What do you want?"  
  
"To get you back to your friends."  
  
Quatre yawned suddenly and blinked into the darkness. "Hunh? What?"  
  
A tug at the arm. "This room has sleep-inducing gases being pumped into it. We've got to get out of here. Trust me-- you'll feel a lot more clear-headed once you're away from the vapors."  
  
"Vapors...?" managed he as he felt someone take hold of his arm and lead him through the darkness until a door was opened. Quatre immediately recognized the symbols and pulled back reflexively. "Oh noooo, we can't got out there. Akimiko doesn't like dirty boys..." He tried to yank away from his captor. Instead, his head snapped back as a brisk smack to the face stopped him from going any further. He stood in stunned silence as the voice leaned into his ear.  
  
"Quatre, if I don't get you out of here, you're going to experience pain like you've never felt before. It's going to cut so deep that even if you do make it out your soul will be bound with the burden of it forever. Do you understand?" The addressed nodded vaguely and the captor resumed it's quiet trek into the hallway, motioning for Quatre to be quiet.  
  
The hallway continued with it's familiar pattern of symbols and marbles, and finally, after several periods of halting, crouching, and waiting, the two came to a door similar to Quatre's. The stranger forced Quatre to enter the room first, then followed closely behind until they were both inside and he closed the door. A small click and all was silent.  
  
"You can speak now."  
  
Honestly, after forcing himself to keep from questioning the stranger as often as he felt the urge, now that he had the chance, he couldn't think of anything to say. After a moment the voice became a little confused, almost desperate. "Quatre? Can you speak?" Quatre didn't say anything. "Say your name, Quatre. Say Quatre Winner." He groaned, then slowly repeated 'Quatre Winner.' "Good."  
  
Quatre felt awkward in the darkness. His eyes hadn't even adjusted yet and he felt vulnerable. "I-I'm sorry. I just... couldn't think of anything to say."  
  
"That's not your fault, Quatre. That's their fault."  
  
The blond pilot frowned at the emphasis of their. "Their? Who is there Ke--"  
  
Another hard smack to the face prevented him from finishing. The voice became hard. "Never say their names. They'll be on you faster than you can blink."  
  
"What's happening?" said Quatre finally, after contemplating his words a moment. He rubbed his face and winced. That hurt too now. Another abused appendage to add to the list.  
  
"Nothing now," responded the voice after a pause, then, thoughtfully, "but a lot will happen if it turns out you stay. Which is why I have to get you out of here."  
  
Suddenly, Quatre felt a grab at his stomach, instantly causing him to cry out in pain. A small disappointed sound came from the voice's mouth and a supporting arm came under Quatre's arm. "I apologize. I just had to make sure."  
  
"Make sure? That I had been beat up?" winced the boy sharply. He took a deep breath and allowed the support to take the full weight and lead him to a sitting place.  
  
"I need to fix your wounds before we go any further, and I just want to use as little light as I can so that we don't attract any attention." The support moved away from Quatre and after a few moments of shuffling, returned to sit beside him. He watched as sparks hit together three times, then caught completely. The light didn't illuminate much, but it did manage to give cast a glow on Quatre's stomach injury, and just as well a give a significant view of the male face of the stranger that had led him out of his room. Quatre inhaled sharply, eyes wide.  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
* * *  
  
A boy walked the streets of L1 with his head down and his dark blue baseball cap low over his eyes. He walked with no apparent direction, like one without a place to be, someone to be with, or goal having been searched for. But eventually, his steady gait turned into one of the barred gates of the concealed, abandoned cemeteries. A children's cemetery.  
  
He jumped over gate easily and made his way past the barren graves and even some of the impossibly tiny coffins that had long since been forgotten and left forever in silence. The moment he made it to the back right-hand corner of the cemetery he kneeled and took off his cap.  
  
"Once I said I would defeat OZ for the sake of the colonies. The colonies abandoned us, and we were left with no one to fight for but ourselves." But you... you didn't die for anything. No one hated you, tracked you down and tried to kill you just because you could pilot one of the worst machines ever created for war. You died because you were a child. You died because you were innocent. You died because you had no place to go, no food to eat, and no mom or dad to protect you from all of the evils of this universe. We're a lot alike. You could have easily been me, and I could be you. Sometimes I wish I was you... I wouldn't have to stand aside while I watch others like you die even while the Earth and the colonies have declared peace and there isn't even any war or a reason why they have to die.  
  
Heero took a deep breath and slipped his cap back on. "I am sorry, truly sorry that I couldn't save you." He stood. "Maybe soon we can have peace again, peace for the men and women of the colonies and Earth as well as the children who may otherwise never be able to become adults because the adults left them to die." He nearly touched the body above the grave, but didn't. Instead, he took off his jacket and covered as much of the shrivelled body of the child as he could and left before the colony woke to another day.  
  
* * *  
  
He dreamt. This time he was facing his colony instead of running away from it. His hands were sweating on Shenlong's controls and he felt as if he was suffocating. He knew what was going to happen.  
  
He forced his head down and screamed aloud. "Why do I have to see the die?! Why am I the only one who has to bear witness to the death of my own colony?!"  
  
"Because you're the one who's supposed to see why mankind must suffer."  
  
"Hunh? Who said that?!" he threw himself back and looked frantically around him until he spotted something floating just outside of his front view-screen. Facing away from him was a small, girl shaped figure, long black hair flowing behind her. He gasped. "You don't have any air! You'll die!"  
  
Slowly, the body revolved until it faced him, and finally transformed into another face and body... the six or seven year old version of himself.  
  
"Now you know how I feel."  
  
Wufei bolted up from his slumped position and absently wiped his sweat-drenched face. He looked up at the clock, sporting an evening 7 o'clock and sighed heavily. "I have no time for this... nightmares are a weakness I cannot afford..." But he narrowed his eyes and the last images of the dream lingered in his vision. "Nightmares..."  
  
* * *  
  
"You're good," said a cute, 12 year old boy, dark black and blue- shaded hair coming a little under nose-length. His dark blue eyes sparkled with admiration. "I'm not at all like you, especially now."  
  
"Neither am I," echoed his deeply complected companion somewhat shyly. This one had a beautiful smile, but it was somewhat shaded with the emotions inside of him. "I wish I was you, though. Maybe... maybe you'll come back and see us sometime." Immediately he winced and looked apologetically at his counterpart.  
  
"Drexel, you know that's kinda bad to say in front of him." But he nodded anyway and accepted the apology. "You're probably not coming back here, but we'll miss you a lot anyway."  
  
The silent boy was not afraid but somewhat disturbed by the fact that he was leaving the boys that had been beside him as far back as he could remember. "Hikaeru... Drexel..."  
  
"Don't worry about us!" said Drexel with another winning smile. "We know that you can't help it. You're just better than us, that's all. You deserve it."  
  
"I don't deserve anything."  
  
"Don't talk like that. It would be better if you'd go."  
  
"But... but I don't want to go. It hurts."  
  
"Of course it hurts, but it's the only way you can go, though."  
  
"Maybe I shouldn't go. Maybe it was better that I stayed here. Maybe it's better in here."  
  
"DON'T--" began Drexel, but something inside of him began to shake and he could only manage a sad smile. "Just go. Don't you remember what we did for you? We took out the bad stuff."  
  
A tear went down the unnamed boy's cheek. "It... I think something's still inside of me though. I don't know how to get it out. It's telling me to stay."  
  
"There's the door though, and it would be hard to sneak you back to your room. You'd better go." Hikaeru winked and rubbed the little boy's head affectionately, slowly taking his hand away. "And as long as you stay away from here, the bad stuff won't ever get you again, okay? You're a lucky little boy. Don't you ever say that you're too young, and that you want to be older. If you were any older they would have taken you away." Hikaeru's expression dimmed a little but he hid it. "A very, very lucky little boy."  
  
"But I don't want to leave. I don't see a reason to leave you at all." obstinate  
  
For a moment, both Drexel and Hikaeru panicked. They had come so far, so far to save the youngster, and now that they were at the door, he didn't seem so sure anymore... they had to get him away without frightening him into a state of flight... it was the wrong way to go out alone, and the perfect way to attract the worst attention he could possibly get...  
  
True to his unique nature, Drexel bent down and took the shoulders of the little boy, voice solemn. "Do you remember some of those seventh nights, Star?"  
  
Star blinked and his demeanor stiffened a little. "Yes."  
  
The seventh nights... the nights of living nightmares. Star would be in his bed and he would hear horrible noises that frightened him so badly that he could not sleep. Images, wave over wave of vivid darkness parades, parades of death, endless dirges, sacrifices, children screaming... The sounds of crying, heart-wrenching, soul shattering... sometimes he would even imagine that it was Hikaeru or Drexel screaming, it sounded so familiar... but later that night, in the darkness, both of them would slip into his bed and reassure him that nothing had happened... that he was only dozing and that if he would just close his eyes he would be ok. They would tell him stories until he fell asleep.  
  
"Those seventh nights are the ones that we want you to stay away from."  
  
"You're almost six years old now, such a smart, smart boy," reassured Hikaeru, "and those seventh nights aren't very good for smart boys like you. Soon, if you go away, then the seventh nights will go away. No one will ever bother you with bad thoughts like that. Kekei might come after you and force you to have those seventh nights for real."  
  
Kekei had been a nightmare in herself for Star. He had seen her only once or twice, whenever he had seen her come to take the obedient older boys away (for he was the youngest, and until he was old enough he could only obediently stay in his room), but her silky demeanor always frightened him. He never dared say a word in her presence for fear of... of... what was he afraid of? He didn't know, but she had always scared him stiff before... before Hikaeru and Drexel... before they... took the bad stuff away... what had they taken? He shook himself from his thoughts and blinked almost disbelievingly. "For real?"  
  
"Yes, real. But you're okay right now, but you have to leave. Do you understand?"  
  
"If you stay here, we might never see you again, but leaving you like this is much better. We have a chance to say goodbye to you, and you'll end up where you're needed most. We want you to live to see the stuff we'll never get to see. Go ahead, Star. Do everything for us that we can't, ok buddy? Like finding that space heart."  
  
The bewildered boy named Star blinked at him in question again. "A space heart? What's that?"  
  
Hikaeru laughed quietly. "I can't believe how many times I've had to tell you, little Star." He bent down and looked in the boy's intelligent, deep green eyes. "You remember that story I told you about? That story about the boy who died saving the world?"  
  
It had been an odd, disconnected bedtime story Star had been told. A small, courageous boy had been torn away from his family when he was just a child, and when he finally found them again, they were about to have the life sucked out of them by an evil demon. He threw himself into the place of his family and died for their sake. The family lived, but the boy died. But because he had been such a courageous boy, his heart and soul escaped his body forever to cast hope and courage into the lives of those that had been just like him, courage to keep their families free and their friends safe from harm, like a true child hero. Star couldn't understand why that would be such a good thing, for a soul and a heart to escape the body and put light on people, but he decided that they had told him the story just to keep him from having nightmares when he went to sleep. But even when they didn't tell him any stories before he went to sleep he didn't have nightmares. The older boys always had nightmares. There was just so much he couldn't understand. He thought a moment and nodded slowly. "A space heart. Find a space heart."  
  
Drexel drew the boy to himself and gave him an affectionate hug. "You take care little Star. And earn a name for yourself, ok? You won't need to be Star ever again. Just be yourself. Find that space heart so you can find a name for yourself..."  
  
The little boy nodded. "Okay." He turned to the door and ran up to it. His tiny hands grabbed the handle, and the older boys bit their lips in anxiousness to see whether or not he would be burned. He opened it without any more difficulty than a four year old opening a heavy door and slipped through it, unheeded, finally free. "Bai Hikaeru! Bai Drexel!"  
  
"Bye bye, Star. Remember... do everything we can't. Find a space heart for yourself... and for us too..."  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre's mouth dropped open to say something, but the motion was futile. He couldn't think of anything to say. Whether that was because of the vapors from his room or the fact that he couldn't believe Trowa was there, he couldn't tell.  
  
"Trowa..." He gave a disbelieving half-laugh and half smile. "I... I can't believe it! You're here! Did you come by yourself? Where are the guys? What happened?"  
  
The other boy gave him a confused look. "Trowa? Who are you talking about?"  
  
"I can't believe that I didn't recognize your voice! But when I listen closer..." Quatre paused, giving him a perplexed look. "What do you mean, 'Who are you talking about?' I'm talking about you! What's wrong with you?"  
  
"I was about to ask you the same question. Who is this Trowa? Was he one of your friends?"  
  
"Trowa, this is a bad place for your sense of humor to kick in! Tell me how--"  
  
"I'm not kidding. And before you say it again, I am not Trowa."  
  
The blond boy squinted at the other boy's poorly lit face. Regardless of the light, he was still positive it was Trowa -- semi-sure, anyway. Same lean features, same brown hair, even if a little shorter... same deep green eyes... it was unmistakably Trowa. At least it had to be... unless... Quatre frowned. This had to be Trowa. He even sounded like him. After all of these years, how could he make a mistake?  
  
The Trowa look-alike shook his head and pulled up Quatre's shirt to inspect his stomach. "Lay down, Quatre. You're hurt badly and I need to know exactly what they used on you." He paused. "But seeing you, I don't think they would hurt you enough for it to be irreparable."  
  
Quatre lay down slowly, eyes still anchored onto the green-eyed boy's face. The other boy held the light in one hand and quickly assessed the damage, then gently prodded the scarring spots on Quatre's stomach. When Quatre winced, the other boy nodded and pulled the shirt back down, turning his gaze back to the blond pilot's face. "We'll need to get to the medical facility. Your wound is already scarring and if we don't get some antibiotics on it it might not heal correctly. It's not like her to mess up this badly unless you offended her in some way. She used a butterfly on you this time."  
  
"A butterfly." The boy's face disappeared from the light and it was dark just as suddenly as it had been before.  
  
The Sandrock pilot groaned suddenly and rolled over on his stomach. My head hurts. None of this is making any kind of sense. Getting stabbed with a butterfly knife... What happened to Trowa? I thought he was here... Where are the rest of the guys? Quatre grabbed his head with both hands and moaned. "What is this, a nightmare?!"  
  
"Quatre Winner--"  
  
"Who are you anyway?? How do you know my name??" Hysteria danced on the edge of his voice but stonily fought it back. Bringing up his legs onto the bed, he turned on his side to what he though was the wall and hugged himself tightly. After a moment, he felt that familiar tug on his arm but stubbornly knocked it away. He heard a tiny sound and felt another grab at his arm. Unlike the first time, Quatre could not pull away. One side of the bed depressed as the other boy sat down, leaning on Quatre's back just a little, almost as though he was waking a child from a nightmare.  
  
"Quatre, I know this has to be incredibly hard for you, but you've got to stay strong through it." The sound of the boy's sounded so much like Trowa's that it maddened him and he clapped his hands over his ears. The other boy suddenly grabbed Quatre's wrists and flipped him around. "Quatre, you've got to listen to me! You are in grave danger! And the danger you continue to leave yourself in not only puts your life in danger but the rest of your friends in the path of destruction and disaster!"  
  
"Path of destruction?" choked Quatre angrily. "Do you know what me and my 'friends' do? We're Gundam pilots. We destroy. That's what we do. We put ourselves and everyone else in the path of destruction every time we go out in our Gundams! And you know what? We'll do it again. And again, and again, and again--"  
  
A third stiff slap sounded across Quatre's face and he began to choke back his hysteria. The  
  
voice sounded disbelieving. "Your mind is clouded... this isn't you, Quatre. This isn't you..." The boy calmly placed a hand just above Quatre's forehead, and although he did not touch him, the action seemed to calm him. "In a place like this, no matter what your strengths are your weaknesses are what show. Don't feel ashamed... of your fear. Of your uneasiness. And at the same time, don't fear. I'm going to get you out of here and back to your friends so that all of you can stop this. You all are needed here." The boy withdrew his hand and himself from Quatre.  
  
Quatre did not fight this time, but contemplated his words carefully. But even in contemplating, he didn't know what to say. So he didn't say anything but what he knew to say. "You're not Trowa."  
  
"If you must call me something," said the voice after a moment of silence, "call me Minoru. That is what I call myself." There was another tug at his arm and instead of resisting, he stood and waited warily.  
  
"M-Minoru?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"To get you out of here, Quatre. To set you free."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey Wufei!" hissed Duo loudly. Wufei tensed and looked at him expectantly.  
  
"What have you found? What is it?"  
  
Duo frowned and grabbed his stomach. "I am so hungry!"  
  
Wufei made a disgusted sound. He couldn't believe that yet again Heero had managed to stick the braided baka with him for a serious mission that had not yet even acquired the 'need to get to' part. He closed another useless archive and threw up his hands. "You are such an idiot! You've been sitting there for over an hour and you haven't found anything useful!"  
  
"Oh contrare, mon ami," winked Duo. He e-mailed the info to Wufei and several hundred extra Yahoo windows popped up as well. [G: Don't we all know the feeling.]  
  
"MAXWELL!"  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, but do you see? I was a good little boy like you told me." He stuck out his tongue at the other boy and nodded toward the screen. "Take a look. It's unbelievable!"  
  
Wufei stared at the screen. "Medicinal labs? What's this?" He became angry. "Are you sending me sp--"  
  
"No, look at it! Look at what I've highlighted you tight-wad."  
  
True to word, Duo had highlighted in blue the name Azuya Kurijiko. In every document.  
  
"Take that, baby!"  
  
"Which means..." Wufei squinted and pulled up each page. "He's been everywhere?"  
  
The braided pilot grimaced. "She. Take a look, man." He scrolled down several of the pages and highlighted numbers. "Look at how far..."  
  
"Azuya Kurijiko was involved in the white cell recount when the local lab exploded after an attack by renegade mobile suits," read Wufei quietly. The document when on and finally got to a highlighted date. "After Colony 190. We have records back that far?"  
  
Duo's grin faded to a grimace. "It's not that far. Keep reading."  
  
Vaguely disturbed by the normally cheery boy's change of tone, Wufei continued to read the dates. "A.C. 191. A.C. 190. A.C. 190. A.C. 90." He stopped and did a double take. "WHAT?! 90?! But that's--"  
  
"One hundred years," finished Duo. "Azuya Kurijiko -- Akimiko -- has been running this business for one hundred years."  
  
"But what does that mean?"  
  
"That a one hundred and twenty year old lady is wobbling around and stealing Quatres all around the universe," said Duo sarcastically. "What do you mean 'What does this mean'?! How the heck am I supposed to know?!"  
  
Wufei had already begun look for more, ignoring Duo's last comment by default; mostly at least. "One hundred and twenty... why would you say one hundred and twenty?"  
  
Duo shrugged. "The guy I used to run errands for was maybe five or six years older than I was. I'm guessing."  
  
Wufei managed to peek around the computer to Duo. "Errands."  
  
Duo rolled his eyes. "And you say my mind is in the gutter..."  
  
Grumble from the other end. "I didn't say you had one in the first place..."  
  
"By errands I meant dealing out drugs to the kids who couldn't afford it, to put it bluntly." Duo laughed softly. "Medicine to the living, morphine to the dying, everything to the in between. I was the good guy then." He sunk softly into memory, visualizing the hard-hit atmosphere of his home L2 colony. "It was just like being in one of those Civil War camps from so long ago, except it hadn't even been four or five years since it ended. We feared disease more than we feared getting blown up by mobile suits or any other nightmare this freak of a universe could come up with." He frowned a little. "But Heero's giving off hints that the deal Quatre's in is worse than anything we've ever gone against. How's that supposed to happen?"  
  
Wufei frowned as well. "I don't know. But what I do want to know is what Trowa and Heero have to do with this."  
  
"Not to mention what we have to do with this. I can understand how I'm connected to Azuya somehow, but it was only for a brief time, and I can't even begin to figure out what you have to do with this."  
  
Wufei's face darkened behind his computer screen. "I'm sure it's something."  
  
Duo kicked back in his chair and propped his feet up on the computer table. "Yeah, I'm sure. Anyway, I've got nothing else to do here, so I'd better head to L2 and track down Azuya, even thought I remember him as a guy and Heero says he's a she who's missing, and yet still involved in the disappearance of miscellaneous dead children all over L2. Can't get any better than that." I can't believe it. I just can't. Kids died all the time on L2. They were just like me. If they were just like me, why am I not dead too? Why am I sitting here joking about something I'm scared to death of instead of on top of those graves like the kids in those pictures? "Weird, hunh?"  
  
"Yes, weird," was the soft reply. Duo shrugged and stood up from the table, putting in the code to erase all previous searches and findings. He forced a grin. "Enjoy baby-sitting Trowa, Wu-babe. Sorry I can't stay and make formula for you, but y'know, it's my turn to meet the reaper."  
  
Wufei cocked an eyebrow but didn't turn his face from the screen. "Why does that not surprise me?"  
  
Duo shrugged and grinned, crossing his arms. "Because, I'm a kinky American Gundam pilot who has more good heart than the Care Bears?"  
  
Wufei laughed suddenly. "Maxwell, you are a good waste of space!"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You're the one with the mind. You figure it out."  
  
* * *  
  
Are you lost?  
  
I've been lost since I was born.  
  
Oh, that's so sad. And you're still alive.  
  
I shouldn't be. I should be on top of one of those graves. I don't deserve to be alive. I should have died when I self-destructed in Zero.  
  
You haven't fought any harder.  
  
I don't undertsand what you mean.  
  
You haven't fought any harder to self-destruct yourself. Why is that?  
  
I don't know. I guess I want to live.  
  
What for?  
  
I don't know.  
  
Oh. Well... is it hard to live?  
  
What?  
  
Is it a hard fight to live? Is it hard to do it?  
  
Yes.  
  
Then why did you kill those orphans?  
  
I didn't mean to do it. I screwed up.  
  
Has anyone else screwed up and killed you?  
  
No, but--.  
  
No one asks to die.  
  
I didn't know them. They didn't ask, I just--  
  
They knew who you were. They saw your face before you killed them.  
  
stop.  
  
They saw past your Gundam's armor right into your face.  
  
stop it.  
  
They didn't see the Gundam Wing Zero, or the assassin Zero One.  
  
I said stop it.  
  
They saw Heero Yuy. Living, breathing, but totally dead Heero Yuy.  
  
STOP IT!!! GET THE HECK OUT OF MY HEAD!!  
  
I'll be here, Heero. I'll be here just in case you try to die again. Just call for me and I'll be there. I'm the only face you'll see before you die and you can count on it.  
  
Heero started awake as the shuttle announced that it had landed on the L3 colony. As the others around him stood to exit the shuttle and beat the rush, the Zero pilot wiped the sweat from his face and wrapped his arms around him. Maybe I am going crazy...  
  
* * *  
  
It's cold out here. I can't think. Why... why did I leave? I forgot something there that I should have taken with me...  
  
He was outside now, the memories of everything before that moment were a haze, just like the faces of those he had left behind. The tiny abandoned library marked the end of the city limits and the beginning of a fairly vast expanse of field, markedly one which had just witnessed another MS battle gone civilian. The little boy shivered inside but crouched no further under the staircase of the library. The chills he felt inside weren't from the wintry climate, but the emptiness... now that he had left familiar grounds, he felt simply empty. Homelessness was only a minor problem... having no clean clothes didn't even bother him that much either. His stomach growled and he looked down at it wonderingly. "What was that for?"  
  
"I think you're hungry. Would you like something to eat little man?" The boy looked up and blinked at the war-torn man before him, of whom was goggling at him conspicuously. The boy already did not like the man and turned his head away from him.  
  
The voice of the man grew angry. "Hey punk, I asked you a question. Answer me!" When the boy did not answer, the man grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him out of his place. "Fine then. I'll have a little something instead..." He pulled a dirty knife out of his pocket and pushed it through the boy's shirt.  
  
The boy could only open his mouth in protest but no sound came out. He could only feel the knife sinking in through his flesh, puncturing the tight area between the thick bones of his rib cage. The older man grunted. "So now you know to respect your elders, eh boy?" He jerked the knife out, then lunged to stick it farther into the boy's chest.  
  
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That's it for now! And I already have the second chappy in progress.. it'll be up in a day or two! Take care! 


	4. An Opening Masquerade

::yawn:: Man! This "Adult Swim" thing is really kicking my tail. Doncha just hate it when your desire to watch TV conflicts with your common sense? OFCOURSENOT!!! I didn't think so ^_^ Anyway, this part with Trowa... I was going to begin his own little monolouge with this section Drift is dealing with separate from this whole series, so I'll only go so far. Whaddaya think? [insert futile ploy to have you send her your ideas: sakura_maxwell@yahoo.com ... also thanks all of the people who already have. Thanks you guys! I really appreciate it!] ::sighs:: If only this stuff was an exam or something... I'd be kicking this mother. ANYWAY, enough with my whining. Enjoy and please R+R ^_^  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The boy could only open his mouth in protest but no sound came out. He could only feel the knife sinking in through his flesh, puncturing the tight area between the thick bones of his rib cage. The older man grunted. "So now you know to respect your elders, eh boy?" He jerked the knife out, then lunged to stick it farther into the boy's chest.  
  
But this time, the boy did not let it happen. Through instinct he stepped quickly aside to let the force of the lunge carry through, and as the man cried out, trying to catch himself from falling, the boy grabbed the knife from the dirty fist and thrust it instead into the stomach of the assaulter. The man merely winced and fell down, and the boy was left to stare blankly at the lifeless shadow on the ground before him. Vaguely the feeling of cold as the wind picked up swept through the tiny frame and he dropped the knife, again blankly.  
  
_I did this. And I did this without thinking. Does this mean.._. He paused and looked out behind him, only using that vague sense of self- awareness to see that his hair was close to growing over his eyes and the redoubled sense of self-alertness that caused his eyes to naturally widen like a prey's. _I did this without thinking... is that what taking the bad stuff out does? Or is that what being all alone does? Maybe this is what I'm meant to do... put the lives of men down like this..._ Again he looked around, and, his gaze randomly trailing from the clusters of buildings behind the library to the somewhat openness of the snow-filled field ahead of him. He saw a small light, like a fire, in the midst of the wreckage in the field and led himself blindly toward it.  
  
Once he was within seeing distance, one of the like-hims turned a face to him and blinked. He thought of them as 'like-hims' because by their countenances, they were... just like him... somehow finding themselves in a place that they hadn't planned to be... huddled around a fire in the middle of a smoking wreckage. Curious, and somewhat hungry, he staggered toward the like-hims and dropped to his knees, staring at the fire.  
  
"Hey kid, are you hungry?" said one of the guys compassionately, not at all like the other guy had... he blinked and didn't say anything. The guy laughed lightly and put some tough-looking food in his hand, patting him on the back. "Here, take this."  
  
The boy stared at the food, then absently nibbled at it. The man sat back with his friends and continued the discussion as it had been before the ex-Star had stumbled there, seeming to forget about the quiet, disoriented little boy. Quietly, he drifted into his thoughts, but the men huddled together and talked leisurely about him.  
  
"Who's the kid, Aike?"  
  
Aike, the man who had offered the boy food, shrugged lightly. "Dunno. Quiet kid."  
  
"Maybe he's a mute. Or even deaf. Probably another war orphan. Maybe his parents were in this field when the MS battle crashed here?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Danged MS's nothing but trouble. Probably the hundredth family this week that this war has torn apart. Shame."  
  
"Shame."  
  
"Are you going to do anything with him, Aike?"  
  
Aike glanced at the boy and shrugged again. "Dunno. Doesn't look like he'll be much trouble though."  
  
The other men laughed. "Not much trouble. I guess like you, eh Aike? Perfect little orphan."  
  
Aike grinned moderately and looked back at the boy. "Yeah... perfect little orphan."  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you the new intern?" said the doctor. Duo nodded quietly and the man motioned for him to follow.  
  
As they walked, the doctor led Duo through a door in the back, opening to a completely new brightly lit hallway. Duo frowned slightly. He had never seen this before.  
  
"We've been looking for a long time for someone to fill the internship, Heero. We are very happy you are here and expect that you will perform your duties to the best of your abilities."  
  
"You bet I will," said Duo softly, half to the man, half to himself. After passing four or five closed doors, the doctor halted and knocked on another plain white door.  
  
"I'll leave you here with the head of our department, Heero. He'll get you aquainted with the place and then tell you what assignment you will be taking over." The doctor turned and put a hand on Duo's shoulder as he was leaving. A strange admiration gleamed in his dark eyes. "We can do this. Just believe." He patted the same shoulder, then slowly walked away.  
  
Duo glanced around, suddenly feeling cramped. "Man, this is getting a little too deep. I think I'd better split before--"  
  
The door opened. "Is that you, Tomoe?"  
  
"Tomoe?" hissed Duo quietly. The doctor that just left. Duo smiled quickly as the door opened the rest of the way. "No, I'm the new intern. My name is--" Duo's mouth dropped open. "Azuya Kurijiko!"  
  
The man in the doorway laughed heartily and grinned at Duo. "Duo Maxwell! What a sight to see!"  
  
Duo Maxwell's mouth narrowly avoided dropping open. "No kuso."  
  
* * *  
  
Wufei jumped as someone touched his shoulder, awakening him from an unplanned drift into sleep. He shrugged the hand off and looked up irritably. It was another man inquiring about how long he was going to say at the computer. He merely grunted an apology and lifted himself out of his chair to leave the library.  
  
As he walked toward 'home', he thought remotely about his just-ended dream. The nightmares about his L5 colony blowing up were by no means new to him, but the ones he had been having lately... weird. Just too weird. Too weird and too vivid for only a dream to be. He had been dreaming about each person on that colony, imagined knowing that they would be destroyed in only an hour, and experiencing the fear and rage in their minds as they realized that he, Chang Wufei, would be the only one to escape. Then the colony would blow up and his dream would end. He ran his fingers over the top of his head. He needed rest, real rest, not this nightmare-ridden crap he had been experiencing.  
  
When he had finally reached the home stretch several hours later, a chill ran up his spine and he growled to himself for leaving his jacket at home. "Baka."  
  
"Are you cold, fellow sufferer?"  
  
Wufei jumped, scolded himself, but didn't turn around. "No."  
  
"I think you are cold. Would you like something to keep you warm, Wufei?"  
  
"No, I'm already close to home. I--" He stopped short. "How did you know my name?"  
  
Giggles. "Of course I know your name, Wufei! I know you because we are just alike, and soon, we'll be together. Then everything will be all right."  
  
Wufei spun around. "Now wait just a--"  
  
No one there.  
  
Wufei merely stared at the empty spot where the voice had come from, doubting his hearing, him mind, and his sanity, but still hearing the ring of that childish voice in his head. "Minute."  
  
* * *  
  
Duo faced Azuya with a neutral look on his face. He couldn't think of anything to say. Azuya grinned and opened the door the rest of the way. He looked at how tall Duo was and sighed, still smiling. "You've grown a lot, Duo. You've changed."  
  
"A lot of things have changed," said Duo finally, his voice strangely quiet. "Have you changed any?"  
  
Azuya shook his head. "Not much, not much."  
  
Duo twisted his mouth wryly. "I heard you'd disappeared, buddy."  
  
Azuya laughed and motioned for him to come in. "Yes, I'm sure. Why don't you come in, Duo?" He grinned again. "I won't bite."  
  
Despite the lightness of the comment, the braided pilot couldn't help but feel the shiver go down his back. He glanced at the safe-looking environment behind the mysterious man and grinned fearlessly. Outwardly. "You'd better not."  
  
Once inside, Azuya led Duo to one of the hospital-looking tables and motioned for him to sit on it. Without a moment's hesitation, Duo hopped onto the table and sat down, crossing his legs under him and waiting patiently for the other man to grab a rolling chair and sit in front of him. As it was, Duo was looking down on him, but Azuya pulled the chair high so they were face to face. Yet again, Azuya grinned.  
  
"You're looking good and healthy, Duo. You must have found something good to do with yourself if you're coming to be an intern here."  
  
Duo shrugged. "I guess you can say that."  
  
"You used the fake name Heero Yuy to get here. That's an interesting choice of a name. Why'd you pick it?"  
  
Grin inwardly. "No particular reason. The name's been stuck in my head for a while. But there are three or four Heero Yuy's I've met before, so maybe that's why." _Heero Yuy the Random Mecha Violence Controller. Heero Yuy the "I Will Kill You" brotha man. Heero Yuy the Evil Knievel Wanna Be. Heero Yuy the "I need you to enlist as a doctor on L2" lame party crashing back stabbing freak..._ "But enough about me. What have you been doing here? Where have you been?"  
  
Azuya sighed. "I had the feeling that was coming. Duo, remember what you were like a long time ago."  
  
Duo smiled wryly. "That's not difficult. Try again."  
  
"Remember what your L2 colony was like when I found you."  
  
Duo slowly frowned. "I remember. Where are you going with this?" When Azuya didn't answer, Duo blinked at him. "Azuya!"  
  
"I remember," said he, not appearing to even know that Duo was still sitting there, "so much pain. So much violence and death and children... it was then that not only did you find adults on the streets, but you found kids too. Any of them between the ages of two and fifteen you could find there walking by themselves or crying in the middle of the street or laying in a corner of disease knowing they were going to die." He finally turned to Duo. "That was the state I found _you_ in."  
  
Duo's voice was stony at the remembrance. "I know."  
  
"People like you were always the people that I wanted to help, Duo. I tried, you tried, and we didn't do much."  
  
"But we did help, Azuya."  
  
"When I cured you, Duo, I had to, _had_ to ask you if you would help me help other kids like yourself. I had to get someone who knew what it was like to know there was not any help and that they didn't have much time to live. I mean knew that the next day they were going to die. Those are the kids we saved. Those are the kids you saved. You didn't do it for long, but you did it, Duo, and now I'm asking you to do it again."  
  
Duo's head whipped up. He gaped a little. "What do you mean? It's not like it was, Azuya. Most of the kids are _gone_. We've gotten much better."  
  
"True, it's not like it was, Duo," answered Azuya bitterly. "It's worse. And do you know why it's worse? Because there shouldn't be any kids on the streets. In the time of war, the governments, both on Earth and in the colonies, spent all of their money on weapons and war machines. In this time of it's so-called 'peace', the governments now spend their money on 'terraforming' and destroying weapons... building new places for themselves, commerce, international--"  
  
"Where are you going with this already?" said Duo irritably. "There's no--"  
  
"There's still no place for the children, don't you see?" exclaimed Azuya. "It's worse now because in war there were homeless children, and in peace there are still just as many! Just as many, Duo, do you hear me? Your body has changed over these years, and like your body the body of war has changed to peace, but just because the body changes, it does not mean that the soul has changed. Still there are children just like you were, just like you are, all over space."  
  
_Azuya... what is wrong with you? I understand what you mean when you want to help, but why are you so crazed about this? I mean... what's wrong with you? There's a dark look in your eyes I just can't figure out..._  
  
"What can you do about it, Azuya?" snapped Duo finally. All of this talk about what it used to be like in his old life was making him uncomfortable, especially how this man he hadn't seen for probably 5 or 6 years was saying that it was still the same. He'd give anything to stay away from where he used to be. Anything. "A lot of kids died then. A lot of kids die now. It's a fact of life."  
  
"Not a fact of life," said Azuya stonily. "It's a fact of _Earth_." He touched Duo's arm. "The colonies aren't supposed to be like that, like this. All forms of evil should stay on Earth, not the colonies. Don't you see, Duo?"  
  
Duo stared at him. "You can't possibly be saying that the Earth is evil."  
  
"Basically, yes I am."  
  
An empty laugh. "It isn't the Earth itself that is evil, or the colonies depending on who looks at it. It's people themselves. People are mean, man. And in case you hadn't noticed, the people that are here originally came from Earth. We're not all that different."  
  
Azuya's eyes glittered. "That's where you're wrong, Duo. Look at you and I, born and raised in the colonies. Or born and _lived_ in the colonies I guess I can say. We were born in this place with more possibilities than any place like Earth. Look around at where we are! This is a new chance for peace like we've never had!"  
  
_Which is what I've already fought for. If you can see all of these dying children, why can't you see how much pain I've gone through to bring peace to people like that?_ Duo was silent.  
  
"I know you've fought, Duo, and look at what you've fought for. Absolutely nothing. Nothing changed. Sure, they're getting rid of weapons on Earth. And in space. But someone always has to start the fight. And then it's hell all over again. So, what do you say we end it?"  
  
Duo was immediately alert. "What do you mean _end it_?"  
  
"Let's show the world what it means to be a homeless kid, Duo," responded Azuya softly. "Let's show them... what it was like to be you."  
  
* * *  
  
"Please, please be quiet here, Quatre," whispered Minoru as he led the slowly recovering Sandrock pilot back out of the little room and into the hallway opposite the direction of Quatre's old room. Quatre remained stoically silent as they tiptoed through the patterned hallways, every five or six seconds ducking into an empty room. He didn't question Minoru's odd way of sneaking around, but noted that the pattern of the boxes changed in every direction... the boxes rotated until they were diamonds, then rhubi, the back to boxes. Finally, after what could have been between 30 minutes to an hour, Minoru reached a dead end--there were no boxes, but dead black walls on three sides.  
  
Again signaling for Quatre to be quiet, Minoru moved to the center of the dead end wall and pushed his back against it has hard as he could. The weight of it was obviously great, but the familiar-looking boy didn't make so much as a groan or grunt as the wall gave way, sliding back away from them and rotating on an axis. Quatre hurried behind Minoru and they both pushed the wall until it fix in place on the other side.  
  
Yet again both were in darkness, but Minoru, so like a cat, adjusted quickly to the darkness and took hold of Quatre's arm, leading him forward about 90 paces before taking a left, then a right. Quatre sensed that the walls on both sides were falling away, and he could hear a very low sound in the distance, unable to hear which direction it was coming from. After an abrupt turn, Minoru led the boy to a halt. He drew Quatre a little further, then pressed his thumb against the base of Quatre's throat.  
  
_If he tried to tell me to be any quieter I wouldn't have any breath left,_ thought Quatre, slightly amused, but wonderingly. He narrowed his eyes but still couldn't see a thing. The low noise was a little louder. _I wonder what he wants me to be so quiet about..._  
  
The was a small sound as Minoru lit a match, and fluidly but carefully, while holding Quatre's throat, put it to the face of the corpse.  
  
As suspected, Quatre began to utter a sound, but Minoru pressed the base of his throat and it prevented him from finishing the action, but nearly making him cough. Minoru waved the light out, released the other, having made his point, and lit two simultaneously. Quatre watched, appalled as the two lights traveled over the bone-thin form of the corpse.  
  
He could tell from height that this corpse had once been a boy. His hair was short, fine and dusty colored, hanging to the side, for he looked like a rag doll thrown in sullenness against the wall on which he was propped. His once dark pants had been ripped to just below his knees, and he had only old, torn remnants of a shirt. His skin was a dark grey or sickly blue, perhaps richly black at one time. He had a smoothly defined nose, closed eyes, but his mouth... his mouth was still defined. Shrunken, but smoothly defined, as if once his smile had been the one to welcome the sun...  
  
Quatre forced his eyes away from the boy and looked quizzically at Minoru. Minoru motioned vigorously back to the boy's face, which Quatre returned to. There was another low noise.  
  
The mouth twitched.  
  
Quatre clapped his own hands over his mouth and his throat this time. The corpse was not a corpse. The boy was still alive. But because of the small sound of skin to cheek, the boy twitched again and swiveled his head toward the sound. The skin over his eyes slowly receded, revealing painfully real deep brown eyes. Fearful. Then surprised.  
  
The blond boy nearly swallowed his own tongue. Even if he had not been forcing his hand into his throat, he would not have uttered a sound. The rag doll boy made a sound in his own throat and his eyes widened, immediately tearing, somewhat thankfully. He rasped. "Heart..."  
  
The lights abruptly went out and Quatre felt himself harshly dragged away from the room and back to a wall. This was a different wall, for there was a small light that appeared in a small opening that he was forced into. Then the light disappeared as he was dragged quickly for another 15 minutes, again until they hit another dark, empty room.  
  
"Quatre, you nearly got us killed!" hissed Minoru. "Why did you do that?"  
  
"What happened to him, Minoru?!" emitted Quatre, voice high-pitched. "That corpse--he was supposed to be dead! And he looked at me!"  
  
"That's exactly what will happen to you if you don't hold your tongue!" Minoru made a frustrated sound. "I led you there only to let you see why you had to leave... you have to leave, or that's what will happen to everyone... not to just _you_, not just _him_, Hikaeru, but your friends, your 'Trowa', your world... everyone..."  
  
"Everyone..." Quatre leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling dizzy. "A-are all of the others here like that? Are they all dead? Or.. half dead?"  
  
Minoru led him to another set of rooms and opened one of the nearest doors, standing aside for Quatre to peer inside. As he hadn't expected, there were four or five boys sitting on the beds, all with the same type of expression on their faces... empty. He stepped cautiously inside and inspected the nearest boy. His skin was turning blue.  
  
"I don't understand... what's happening here? I-Is everyone dying?"  
  
"Without the presence of a heart," said Minoru lowly, "a lot of things can happen. Have you seen enough, Quatre?"  
  
Quatre swallowed thickly and rose, tearing his gaze away from the corpse-like boys he could not save. "Yes. Let's get out of here."  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Oooooooooo. Gotcha yet? ^_^ Until Next Time. 


	5. A Fading Heart

Whoa. it's been. well. a while. A _long_ while! I'm sure you thought I dropped off the face of the earth!  
  
Well, I haven't ^_^ I was going back through this story and decided that I was going to post the rest no matter what [yeeeeeeeees, I finished. ^_^ betcha didn't expect that one, ne? ^_^], but I was wondering. I was thinking about doing a major, _major_ revising of this story, but I need to know if you think it's a good enough one to spend time doing so. I would really appreciate your feedback.  
  
Thank you so much Jenihenpen, Jaid Skywalker, Lorimlowe2, Aras Melanki, and Kawaii ^_^ I really appreciated all of your mails and reviews. ^_^ Though I have been a slacker.  
  
Meanwhile, here's a tiny treat for you to chew on while I wait, ne? ^_^ FF.net was doing weird things to my word documents, so a lot of the sentences may end up looking like fragments because the places where I put [three dots] signifying that a train of thoughts was trailing off often turned out as one period. Sooooooo. without further disclaimer [oh, and Gundam Wing is not mine. ::stares a gun in creator's hand::] here you go!  
  
  
  
  
  
Wufei returned home and consciously locked the door behind him. The house was just as he left it: every door was shut, every room dark, and Trowa still sleeping somewhat soundly on his side. He retreated to his own room and laid down on his bed, not shutting his eyes, not cutting on the light.  
  
/What is happening? It's not me... it can't be me.../ He narrowed his eyes. /I do not have nightmares like this. Something is trying to take a hold... a hold of... but why me? What could someone gain from controlling my mind?/ He sat back up and glared at the mirror across from his bed, seeing only his own, 16 year old features glaring back at him, not a 6 year old's. /Whoever took Quatre did this one on purpose... divide and conquer.../ He thought about it another moment, then smiled, and laughed at himself at he mirror. /I can't believe it. It just took one of us to mess everything up. It just took one... but now I've gotten you figured out. The destruction of L5 was a dirty trick, but an old one, and it won't work on me. You have to do better than that. Now there is no way you are going to take a hold of me. Ever./ Over and over he repeated this until the repetition was no longer frantic...  
  
But then he began to think about the others... Quatre had been kidnapped... Heero had been gone for who knows how long... Trowa was asleep... but Duo... He narrowed his eyes again. He hadn't even heard a report from Duo, not even an e-mail report. Something had to be wrong. He rose from the bed and went to the basement where the Gundams used to be stored. He packed a few items into his Jeep and returned inside to grab his keys before leaving. He shut the door behind him.  
  
After a moment, a click sounded as the door was unlocked and Wufei returned back into the house with an annoyed look on his face. He reached inside of the closet and retrieved a heavy black jacket, then locking the door and heading into his car for the space port so he could in turn retrieve Duo...  
  
* * *  
  
"I couldn't possibly be any more freaking disturbed and confused by everything you _just_ said," stated Duo, in truth, horribly disconcerted. /Show the world what it's like to be me? How freakin depressing can you get?/  
  
"I understand your confusion," replied Azuya earnestly, deep eyes set on Duo, "so you have to listen to me carefully. I'll give you an offer you won't refuse."  
  
"Won't or _can't_," asked Duo bitterly.  
  
"Both," whispered the other. He leaned closer. "Do you want to hear it?"  
  
Duo didn't. He really _really_ didn't want to hear it. So he stood to leave.  
  
Suddenly, Azuya grabbed Duo's wrist to keep him from moving. And very very suddenly, very totally, the Deathscythe pilot couldn't move an inch. He couldn't move his arm, his legs, his eyes, even twitch a cheek. He could only stare in fear as Azuya's features became slightly feminine, but young like a child's.  
  
"You're a very lucky boy, Duo," said Azuya sweetly. "You've survived a non-discrepant Holocaust and now I'm going to allow you the chance to reap your rewards."  
  
There were five or six four-letter words that Duo was thinking about at the moment in both good English and bad English. Mostly bad English.  
  
"I am gathering my forces right now, just as we speak, and your Quatre Winner will be at the head of it. If you join me, you will be a part of an immense operation a thousand times worse than that of that of Operation Meteor and I'm not bluffing."  
  
/Operation Meteor!! Why the freak does everybody keep bringing that up?!/  
  
Slowly, "Azuya" released Duo's arm and he was able to move again. He heaved a deep sigh.  
  
"Akimiko."  
  
A deformed half-male Akimiko giggled childishly. "I can't believe you know my name. But I suppose that is well enough. You are in direct possession of four incredibly important assets to the future of Earth, and I would like to borrow them from you."  
  
"Assets?" choked Duo. Quatre. "What, you mean the guys?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"Unbelievable." Duo's panic humor kicked in and he laughed nervously. "I don't think Wu-man will be so happy when he finds out he's an asset. He doesn't take too well to stuff like that. Heero just might try to kill you. Hell, I might just try to kill you. And Trowa might be forced to retaliate."  
  
Akimiko's eyes narrowed. "_Trowa_. Who--"  
  
Akimiko was cut off by a giant explosion that rocked the building. The doorway flew open from the blast, fire outlining the background and smoke poured into the room, making Duo cough. Azuya looked around wildly and her face changed back to that of the male Azuya. "What was that?!"  
  
A voice began to scream from down the hallway. "THERE'S A GUNDAM DOWN HERE!! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!"  
  
Duo blinked. "A... Gundam..." Another blink later, Duo had disappeared from the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Wufei waited patiently by his car and off handedly watched the smoke pouring from the little medical center. Not even a minute later Duo bolted out of the front door. Wufei groaned. "That's not such a good idea! The Gundam is that way! Are you that much of a baka?" He gave a small smile of relief as a perfectly healthy Duo spotted him and ran flat out toward the car. Unfortunately for Justice, Duo didn't stop running, but instead threw his full weight into giving him a great big hug.  
  
"Man I have _NEVER_ been so glad to see you!!"  
  
"That's obvious. Are you ok?"  
  
"NO! I'm scared to death. I think I peed my pants."  
  
"Get in the car."  
  
"Yes sir, Mr. Destruction, sir."  
  
Wufei paled just a little. "You mean you just met... Akimiko? Is that who it is?"  
  
"Unfortunately, she's not the one hundred and twenty year old lady we thought was wobbling around the place." Duo groaned and stretched back in his seat. "Oh man! What's with this? Crap like this isn't supposed to happen to kids."  
  
"Kids," echoed Wufei angrily, then, after a moment, thoughtfully. "Of course this isn't supposed to happen to kids..." Suddenly, Wufei yanked on the wheel and the car screeched into the other direction. Thankfully, it wasn't a very busy road. Not very.  
  
Duo spat forth several more words from his extensive area of not very good English before swinging to face Wufei. "What the freak do you think you're doing?!?"  
  
"We have to go back."  
  
Duo's mouth dropped open and didn't go back up. All he could utter was 'uh'. Although his surprise turned into a steady glare, the driving pilot did not appear to notice. By the time Duo got his voice back, Wufei began to speak.  
  
"I need to see Akimiko."  
  
"For what?!" choked Duo. "How-To-Scare-The-insert word-Out-Of-A-Gun- dam-Pilot lessons?! That's _suicide_! A-And she's a _she_, I told you! She freakin trans--!"  
  
"Did she try and _kill you_, Duo?" asked Wufei, ignoring the last part both ritually and personally. The last thing he needed to know was that he was going to be extensively creeped out, _then_ killed. He already had the creeped out part down. The killed part wasn't something he was planning on.  
  
Duo blinked. "Well no, but--she said she wanted to borrow us. Does that even give you the hint that going back is not such a good idea?"  
  
"You didn't complete your mission!" snapped Wufei irritably, diverting his nervous energy towards Duo in anger. "Now I have to do it! We need to find Quatre because he's the missing piece in this mess! If we get Quatre and bring everyone together before it's too late, Akimiko won't be able to finish whatever she's got planned to do with the children--"  
  
"Plan. You know that she's planned something? What are you, psychic? Schizophrenic? Both?"  
  
Wufei gritted his teeth. He could even feel the nervous energy flowing off of Duo and both of them were getting nauseated with the smell of innate fear neither could shake. He sighed heavily and tried to clear his mind. "We don't have the time or the energy to be fighting about something petty like this and you know it. It's no secret that she's got us both scared."  
  
Duo closed his mouth and slowly sank back into his seat. He absently let a window down and let the feel of the slightly bitter wind flow over him and distract him. He gave a weak laugh. "You just said that you're scared. I guess we're not going to live so long after all."  
  
"That's a bad attitude to have." Wufei sighed again, the nervous energy mostly leaving him through the cleansing explusion of air from his mouth. His chest untightened. "The only way that I have been able to keep my mind mostly clear through this is because of my meditation. I've trained myself to mostly resist thoughts that are not good for the mind or the body, like constant fear, or even _nightmares_..." He frowned a little at the thought. "...nightmares about the horrors of the lives we led before... and I think that has something to do with what Akimiko wants us for. It has something to do with our past. To her, somehow, we're different, but I don't think it's specifically--"  
  
"--the Gundams," voiced Duo softly. "We were trained from birth to be Gundam pilots."  
  
"From children, yes. From birth, I'm not so sure. Although...I feel like we've been trained from birth _just to pilot the Gundams_."  
  
The braided boy cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, me too. All of us have gone through some rough times, and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to touch base with each other about exactly what happened, am I right? Well hey, lots of kids have gone through bad times. We're not the only ones who have had to abandon being plain old kids to enlist as soldiers. But Quatre I just don't understand. I just don't understand. What happened to him? Of all of us he seems to be the one that's had the least trouble with his life besides his mom's death. I mean, look at him! Well dressed... a truckload of sisters, head of a company to boot..." Duo crossed his arms behind the back of his chair. "What is so similar with us and Quatre that Akimiko wants us? What is she planning? She said 'I am gathering my forces right now, just as we speak, and your Quatre Winner will be at the head of it. If you join me, you will be a part of an immense operation a thousand times worse than that of that of Operation Meteor.' Do you think... she's trying to launch another war on Earth?"  
  
"No," replied Wufei firmly. "I don't think it's that materialistic. I think... it can't just be about us but about a lot of people... children, but what children? What kind of children is she aiming for? Children like us?"  
  
"But there aren't any--" Duo stopped short. "Maybe..."  
  
Wufei looked at him. "Maybe what? What are you thinking?"  
  
Duo's thoughts averted darkly toward his own Deathscythe pilot- training before he could fight on his own. "Maybe there are other children like us, Wufei. Did the Doctors or Professors train anyone else to be like us, ya think? Maybe we aren't the only ones who were supposed to train the Gundams. Trowa--our Trowa--wasn't the real Trowa, remember? He wasn't supposed to pilot Heavyarms in the first place. Maybe there are other people like the other Trowa on the rest of our colonies--" He stopped short, not saying anything about what he knew of Wufei's own colony. Wufei didn't offer anything, but nodded toward the little med. center. Duo sat up in his seat. He couldn't see anything but smoke.  
  
They pulled up as far as they could behind the crowd of people who had gathered before the site of the med. center. Both of them gaped as they scanned the decimated building they had left at least partially whole only 10 minutes before. They didn't have a very good view so they jumped on top of the hood of the Jeep. The report of the vigorous newscaster attracted both of their attention.  
  
"--at the site of the old Children's Research Medical Center, where only 15 minutes before there had been rumors of a Gundam attack. But the accucastions, as they were titled, were only rumors, and moments later the building caught fire from the inside and burned down. Leads point to electrical sparks or paper fires, but no one is for sure. All of the minor doctors, students, and children were evacuated safely before the fire consumed the building, but two persons remain unaccounted for, presumably dead--"  
  
"Azuya and Tomoe," whispered Duo as the reporter said the names. "That makes sense. But why would they cause the building to go up?"  
  
"I--" Wufei stopped short and looked around him. Not seeing anything unusual but feeling very strange, as if someone was watching him, he glared harshly at the heads of the crowd before him. "Do you feel that?"  
  
"Yeah," hissed Duo. The feeling of being watched increased until he looked beside him and the feeling evaporated. He hadn't noticed before that a boy had climbed the Jeep and stood beside him, staring with deep blue eyes intently at smoke. Duo elbowed Wufei and motioned to the boy. The boy had faded blue and black hair that went down a little past his ears. He looked maybe 11 or 12 in his faded simple dark blue medical clothes, but his countenance and demeanor gave off otherwise more mature airs.  
  
"Hey, are you a med. student here?" asked Wufei suddenly. The boy didn't turn his head.  
  
"I was a patient," he answered softly. He curved his head until Duo and Wufei were both in his sights. "You weren't patients there, were you?" His eyes softened. "That's good."  
  
"I guess," said Duo, "you were helping with the research?"  
  
The boy blinked at him. "You know about the research?"  
  
"I know about Ak--Azuya," amended Duo quickly. "He was a childhood friend of mine."  
  
The other's eyes began to water a little, his expression one of almost happy joy, but he continued in the same inquiring tone of voice. "How about you?"  
  
Wufei shrugged. "I didn't know anyone here."  
  
"That's good," repeated the boy. "I knew everyone here. All of my friends were in that fire."  
  
The Chinese pilot stared intently at him. "You mean all of your friends got out of it?" The reporters had said that everyone made it out alive...  
  
"No," said the boy, a tear falling from one solemn blue eye. "My friends are there now, beneath the ground... nobody can help them, but finally they have been given graves in thier resting place. Maybe... maybe you can help me. I think I know who you are."  
  
"Have I ever seen you before?" asked Wufei. He twitched when the boy began to laugh, the tears freely flowing down his face by now. "Did I say something funny?"  
  
"You're the ones who she's been looking for. I've finally found you!"  
  
"That's it!" said Duo angrily, grabbing the boy's shirt collar. "You're one of Akimiko's people, aren't you?! What the freak does she want with us?!"  
  
"She wants your souls," said the boy in a hushed voice, a tears slowing and his expression turning slightly fearful, but then becoming hopeful again. "But she can't get them from you yet! I know two of your freinds. You have to go get the bright-hearted boy from Aomori. He's waiting for you."  
  
"Bright-hearted," echoed Wufei. "Do you mean bright-_haired_? Quatre?"  
  
"Quatre," breathed the boy reverently, "Quatre... you are... Duo and Wufei... I am so happy... I can finally be free, just if, just if..." He released himself from Duo's now fairly weak grasp and quickly grabbed his hand, placing it beneath his shirt on the chest area above his heart. The tears began to flow freely again. "Please free me. Give me a part of your heart!"  
  
Duo only gaped and fumbled for words, not coming up with anything. He looked weakly at Wufei, motioning for help or an answer at least. Wufei only gaped at him. The boy reached for Wufei, but Wufei recoiled reflexively from his reach. The boy's expression turned pleading. "Please! Please help me! If you give me a part of your heart, I will in turn give you the coordinates of Aomori. You can retrieve Quatre! Please!" Again, he tentatively reached for Wufei's hand, and this time the boy did not resist but stood stock still.  
  
"What do you want us to do?"  
  
"Just say my name," said the boy softly. Only vaguely did Duo notice that he couldn't feel a pulse underneath the cold skin. "My name is... Hikaeru."  
  
"Whaddaya think, Wu-man?" asked Duo half-heartedly. "Wanna be a Care Bear today?" Wufei nodded softly and Duo didn't have the heart to laugh at him. "Me too."  
  
"Hikaeru."  
  
"Hikaeru."  
  
"Thank you," whispered Hikaeru, tears coursing even harder. He clenched the boys' hands tightly for a moment, then slowly began to back away. "I know that you can save Earth before Akimiko kills it. Go to Aomori." He pointed toward the sky. "The 3rd section of our colonies, beneath Aomori, in lesser Aomori. In this place lies the Aomori Wood and just one entrance door. It will be easy to find because you have not been lost. There you will reunite and become one heart again. Goodbye, space hearts..." Hikaeru smiled brilliantly, then faded until there was only air, just like before.  
  
Duo blinked about four times before saying anything. "Well, that was ritually weird."  
  
"And yet... the tightness in my chest is completely gone." Wufei looked back at the remains of the building and fancied that he saw beraggled children standing there, smiling back at him. He ripped his gaze away and jumped back down into the Jeep, starting the car up again. Duo followed suit and consiously snapped his seat belt across his waist.  
  
"We goin?"  
  
"Definitely."  
  
"I hope Quatre's ok, cuz I've had just about enough of this crap." 


End file.
